Vote to Ban Casino Boats Shocks Boat Owners

Source: News Channel 15 - http://www.wpde.com/

Vote to ban casino boats shocks boat owners
4/4/2007 6:43:10 PM
The owners of two Little River casino boats are still reeling, after Tuesday night's surprise vote by Horry County Council. At that meeting, council was discussing ways to tax the boats when, seemingly out of the blue, members suddenly voted to ban the boats entirely.

The council member who brought up the measure to ban the boats says he's really trying to save the casino boats. As you might expect, the casino boat operators don't exactly see it that way.

"We were shocked."

Sun Cruz Chairman Robert Weisberg says the boat operators have been negotiating with county council for two years on a method to tax boarding fees.

And, he says, just when the operators thought they had come up with a plan agreeable to everybody, an agreement Weisberg says makes "good business sense." Councilman Harold Worley moved to amend that proposal and ban the boats completely, and the amendment passed.

Weisberg says the vote felt like a slap in the face, one that would cost the county millions in economic impact."Hotel owners, the gas stations, the 7-11's, we have 260,000 tourists that come into this neighborhood. I don't know how they look themselves in the face and say, "We're going to throw this money out. We're going to get rid of this. Why us?"

"But Worley says he is not anti-casino boat. "In fact, I am probably more pro-casino boat than anybody on the council.

"Worley says he proposed banning the boats in order to save them. He says the state passed a law last year giving counties two options, ban the boats entirely or tax them by five percent of gross wagers and ten percent of boarding fees. Worley says the agreement between the boats and Council Chairman Liz Gilland was a separate deal, not within state law, and had it passed, would have shut the boats down.

"I've told them all along, I was not going along with anything other than following state law. Now, if you guys want to do that, the boats can stay in Little River.

"Worley says he's ready any time to amend his proposal to allow the boats to operate in Little River, under state law. Weisberg says, he now has to rethink whether he wants to remain in Little River at all.

Council will have to hold a public hearing on banning the boats. The final vote could come next month.